Quebec Hit By Violent Storm...07/06/99

  (Reuters) Montreal,

Nearly half a million people were without power Monday and one young boy was killed after a violent storm ripped roofs off houses and uprooted trees in several areas across Quebec. The nine-year-old boy was crushed to death by a tree in the Laurentians area north of Montreal while he was camping with a friend.

Environment Canada Meterologist Gilbert Fillion said the worst of the storm occurred in the early hours of Monday. "We observed as much as 6,000 lightning strikes per hour," he said. "It is quite unusual." On average, a storm generates about 2,000 lightning strikes per hour.

  The provincial power utility said power was expected to be back in the Montreal area before the end of the day but added some Laurentian and south shore residents might not have power restored before Wednesday. "Right now, 418,000 people are without electricity. Winds reached 100 kilometers per hour in a few areas and several of our transformers were destroyed by lightning," Hydro-Quebec spokeswoman Claudine Aucuit told Reuters.

  The storm also hit the Eastern Townships area southwest of Montreal and the center of the French-speaking province of 7.3 million people. Damages estimates top tens of millions of dollars.